Adapted from “The Michael Knowles Show,” August 8, 2023.
This week, a 33-year-old track-and-field Olympian woman proposed to her fiance after finishing fourth in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase. She finished the race, ran off the track, and knelt to propose. The story has gone viral.
She proposed with a pin, engraved “Love is in Paris.” (Is that the proper way? Do you propose to a man with a pin? Or a ring? A Rolex?) Nevertheless, the man accepts the proposal from his girlfriend, they kiss, and celebrations ensue. This is pretty par for the course for the 2024 Olympics considering the gender-bending going on in the Paris games from the weird, decadent opening ceremonies to boxing to this marriage proposal.
So, why is this wrong? The centrists, the moderates, and even the center Right will say, “Now Michael, what is wrong with that? What is wrong with a woman proposing to a man? There is nothing wrong, you fuddy duddy, you old-fashioned radical extremist.” Yet we all know it’s a bit weird. Our intuition tells us it’s wrong for a woman to propose to a man. Intuitively, we know a man is supposed to propose marriage to a woman, even if you are unable to articulate the precise reasons why that is. We all know it intuitively.
Many of the people who will criticize me for raising any questions about this will also agree with me; they just don’t give themselves permission to admit it because they can’t write a perfectly rational treatise about why a man should propose to a woman — and not the other way around. They will deny their intuition. Still, there are perfectly rational reasons as to why the tradition of men proposing to women has come to be.
First, men tend to be the less eager party when it comes to getting married. While one might argue that is wrong, bad, and terrible, it is nonetheless true. This goes back to when we were five years old. No five-year-old boy in the history of the world has ever dreamed about his wedding day. However, most five-year-old girls dream about their wedding day.
That is simply how men and women are built; it is how we are wired. The libs complain about this — they complain about nature and reality quite a lot — and they are discontent with it. They unceasingly try to revolutionize and upend reality. But the fact remains: Men are the less eager party when it comes to getting married. Because we are the ones who must get over the hesitancy of getting married, we are the ones who take the initiative to propose.
Second, generally men take more of a financial risk when getting married. Though in today’s time it is less common, men are often the breadwinners, so they are the party who proposes because they are taking more of a financial risk when doing so.
Putting aside the matter of who the breadwinner is, men take the emotional risk to propose. Sometimes when a man gets on one knee, the woman says, “No thanks.” This exact scenario happened at a UFC fight, where a fighter proposed to his girlfriend following his fight, and she said no. He was devastated and utterly broken down. But a man takes that risk — and that is ok.
WATCH: The Michael Knowles Show
Men and women are different. For any of the putative conservatives who criticize this stance and ask why it matters who proposes to whom, consider the issue of transing the kids. We all agree we should not trans the kids. (Not Tim Walz. Tim Walz wants to trans the kids, but the vast majority of all normal people think we should not trans the kids.) The reason we shouldn’t trans the kids is because a man cannot be a woman. So, are you also willing to agree we should not trans the adults? Because if a man cannot be a woman, then that is true at any age.
Are you willing to go further and say marriage has a distinct meaning? At its core, the defining feature of marriage is about how men and women are different. Many conservatives will not go so far as to agree with that today. Are you willing to go even further on the point of feminism? According to multiple social surveys, feminism has actually caused women to be less happy because it runs contrary to nature and reality — because men and women are different.
So if transing the kids is wrong because men and women are different, a point on which we all agree, then all of these things have to be wrong. So, maybe it is ok to admit there is something wrong with a lady proposing to a man at the Olympics or anywhere else for that matter.
On a final note, this couple had been dating for nine years. Some have responded, saying, “Well, Michael, the boyfriend had not proposed, so she took matters into her own hands. He should have manned up and proposed.” Yes, I’m sure he should have proposed or broken up with her; however, while I have great sympathy for the woman and I think the man is a total loser (as does the rest of the world because of how this whole situation played out), the woman still should not have been the one to propose.
What should she have done? She should have dumped him years ago. Or, she should have done what my grandmother did to my grandfather (who did not date for nine years) and given him an ultimatum: marry or break up. So, my grandfather proposed. They had six children, were married for 69 years, and had a wonderful life. That’s what should have happened.
But a woman proposing to a man? It’s just not quite right.
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